The way GM Ran Carthon tells it, Malik Willis was simultaneously not good enough to stay on the Tennessee Titans’ roster in 2024 and too good to stay on the team.
The Titans traded Willis, the quarterback the franchise selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, to the Green Bay Packers on Monday in exchange for a seventh-round pick, ending his tenure in Nashville. Willis spent this offseason competing with veteran Mason Rudolph for the job of the Titans’ second quarterback behind Will Levis. He ultimately lost out to Rudolph despite a strong performance in the Titans’ final preseason game and several practices where he at least got a chance to work out with the backups.
“I think Malik has earned the opportunity to be the backup, whether it’s here or anywhere else,” Carthon told the media on Wednesday. “He’s worked his ass off here and done everything we’ve asked of him. I think everyone in this room and beyond has seen his progress, which is a testament to the young man, but also to our coaching staff and Bo Hardegree and the work he’s done with him. But ultimately, Mason had a better offseason and a better preseason and helped move our offense forward on the field.”
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Willis is one of only two quarterbacks on the Packers’ active roster as of Wednesday, putting him in position to back up starter Jordan Love, just as Rudolph will do with Levis.
Titans coach Brian Callahan said throughout training camp that he and his staff would discuss whether they felt it was necessary to have two or three quarterbacks on the active roster until the roster cuts deadline. Now that the decision has been made to have two, Callahan says he’s not in a particular rush to add a third passer to the practice squad, although he does have some qualities in mind about what type of passer he would add.
“I think in a perfect world, you find a younger player, a guy who’s in his first or second year that you can develop and get into and see if you can build your own team in some ways,” Callahan said. “But that doesn’t limit us to a certain position. We’re going to try to find the best quarterback we can find. And if we don’t find one right away, we’re not going to just sign one for the sake of signing one.”
Willis goes to Green Bay after finishing his career with the Titans 1-2 as a starter with no touchdown passes and three interceptions. He appeared in 11 games and never threw for 100 yards, but did run for one touchdown.
His final action in a Titans uniform was a game-winning touchdown pass that gave the Titans an undefeated preseason. It was his second touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of that win.
Now he is going to Green Bay to start over.
“When Green Bay called, we knew Malik had a chance to be the backup we felt he deserved to be. It wasn’t necessarily about the compensation,” Carthon said. “It was about doing Malik justice and giving him that chance.”
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Nick Suss is the Titans reporter for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @nicksuss.
